The legends of Sardinia: le panas and their touching story

Sardinia is a land often associated with sun, nature, sea and beaches. But this island also has, so to speak, a sort of dark side. A dark side represented by ancient as fascinating legends. Such as the legend of le panas.

The Panas are the spirits of women died in childbirth. They returned to the mortal world and had the same appearance as when they were alive. They, for two or for seven years, had to wash the clothes of their baby.

For this reason, it’s possible to find panas near rivers and streams that are near crossroads. Usually, there are always three or four panas. While they’re washing clothes, the sing sad lullabies.

They couldn’t stop their work for any reason, or they would have had to start all over again, ad infinitum. If a fool dared to disturb them, their revenge was terrible: the panas squirted water on his/her face, water burning as if it were fire.

In some cases, the vengeance of Panas takes another form: small spots that appeared on the face of, especially, young women.

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Image source: Flickr.com/photos/dobbianatarasco